Armored Core is a series that I was introduced through the 6th entry. I love that game and wanted to go back and play through the series. I played through and beat this once already on steam deck, but wanted to do so again on legit hardware, and since I was playing through the series. The story is barely a part of the game, I have tried to look deeper into it but there really isn't much. It's set in a world that was destroyed in a war, humanity moved undergrouind due to this and two companies (Chrome and Murakumo) are fighting for control of the old world. We as a Raven fight on both of their behalf, but this is were I get lost. It's revealed that it is an AI running the Raven's Nest and who is controlling the strong AC named Nine Ball. In one ending, we destroy a space cannon named Justice and see the Murakumo CEO get bricked afterwards. If we continue to the next ending then we can destroy the AI controlling Nine Ball and the Raven's Nest. It seems like Nine Ball was pitting the two companies against each other so that one would be destroyed and it could have a better chance at taking control, but I'm unsure. On to gameplay, jesus christ this has not aged well. Graphics are fine, I can deal with this. But, tank controls to maneuver your AC feels horrible. We also have to use the triggers to look up and down, making this incredibly tedious and sometimes impossible. While customization is an option and fun, there is not much room to be fast and have a good selection of gear (apart from the Karasawa, my beloved). Missions were alright if not a little tedious, it was extremely annoying to melee enemies at times or to interact with buttons. The worst part is the platforming, especially on the final level. I did not want to do it again, so I skipped the Nine Balls at the end and simply ended it. The lack of the arena detracks a lot from this, and after ending the game I had no intention to go back and do the alternative missions. The story was lacking overall and gameplay was tedious, though it did shine through at times.